Robotic mapping concerns the creation and use of property mappings by autonomous robots. A property can be represented using two-dimensional (2D) floor plan mapping or a three-dimensional (3D) space mapping that provides a 3D representation of the interior of the property. Property mappings may be metric representations, in which structures and objects within the property are associated with coordinate locations or boundaries, or may be topological representations in which structures and objects are defined based on relationships between them, such as the distances and angles between the various objects and boundaries within the property. Property mappings may represent the free space within a property, i.e., the areas of the property where an autonomous robot is permitted to move, may represent objects within a property, i.e., the areas of the property that are occupied by other structures or objects and therefore represent where an autonomous robot is not permitted to move, or may be composite mappings that represent both the free space and objects within a property.
Autonomous robots utilize property mappings to perform path planning and navigation within a property. Given a location of the autonomous robot within the property and a location of a destination within the property, the autonomous robot can plan a path to navigate through the property to its destination. In some instances, a robot's location within a property can be provided to the autonomous robot, for example, by another system or a human user. In other implementations, an autonomous robot performs localization to determine its location within the property. Localization is traditionally performed, for example, by determining the proximity of the autonomous robot to one or more proximity beacons, using near-field communication NFC), based on detecting a particular wireless free internet (WiFi) network or the strength of a particular WiFi network, using visible light communication (VLC), or based on detecting a particular Bluetooth connection or strength of Bluetooth connection.